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Professor and Chair of Intercultural Communication, Heriot-Watt University

Jemina's research interests and expertise focus around three strands of intercultural communication: (1) language and communication in the context of interpreter-mediated communication – primarily with signed language interpreters and the Deaf community. Adopting sociolinguistic, discourse analytic and sociological explorations of signed language interpretation in context (particularly education, legal and medical) to inform the wider field of interpreting studies, applied linguistics and intercultural communication; (2) how deaf adults actually use signed language to communicate in their lives in terms of bilingualism, language contact and identity; and (3) translation and interpreting pedagogy, using action research to explore aspects of distance education, blended learning, curriculum innovation and discourse-based teaching practices. She has taught, researched and published in all of these areas.

Jemina is particularly interested in working with other researchers involved in intercultural communication research to explore how minority language users (of spoken and signed languages), experience the world and interact with people from other cultures, especially in various professional contexts, with a view to informing the policy, pedagogy, and practice of language professionals.

From 2008-2012 she was Director of the Centre for Translation and Interpreting Research at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia; and has managed several externally funded, industry-partnered, research projects, some of which were funded by the Australian Research Council. She is Editor of the International Journal of Interpreter Education and serves on several journal editorial boards, and advisory groups.

Experience

  • –present
    Head of Languages and Intercultural Studies, Heriot-Watt University